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PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds new crate system upsets fans

Last week’s Battlegrounds announcement had a lot of people upset after boss man PlayerUnknown announced that the game was going to start charging for cosmetics; even before the game officially released. That’s the bit which they were most miffed about. Battlegrounds new crate system will function similarly to Valve’s Counter Strike case system.

The new features which should be live as of today (August 3), will allow players to buy a key for $2.50 which unlocks the Gamescom Invitational Crate and adds to the Gamescom invitation pool. It will, of course, contain Gamescom specific cosmetic items. But not to worry, two unpaid crates will also be released.

PlayerUnknown has mentioned in the past that his team would not add purchasable cosmetic items to the game, not before the game leaves early access (hopefully before 2017 ends). So understandably fans are upset that he’s gone back on his word and introduced Battlegrounds new crate system.

PlayerUnknown explained the reasoning behind his move in a post on the Steam Community. He wrote:

“The idea of testing, prior to full implementation, is at the heart of adding every new game feature in our game, and this includes the crate and key system which we believe will serve as the foundation of a healthy economy after launch.

But still, I must admit that our messaging wasn’t very clear, so I extend my sincere apologies for the confusion caused. The process of communicating our intentions precisely to our fans and communities should have been done in a more careful and prudent manner. I’ve learned a lot, and we’ll try to communicate better moving forward.”

How will PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds new crate system work?

“Like the current free-to-open system, you will be limited in the number of crates you can receive each week, with the crate prices being reset each Monday. Currently, this limit is set to 6 crates per week, and you are free to trade them on the Steam Marketplace. I also want to point out that the full cosmetic system is still being discussed internally, and we are taking your concerns into consideration when it comes to the ability to get free cosmetics by playing the game.”

While fans are upset that PlayerUnknown went back on his word, we’re inclined to agree with him here that Battlegrounds new crate system is ultimately beneficial for the game. It’s just cosmetics after all. Unless that was a big part of why you played the game, it shouldn’t bother you too much.

Other than the above, a host of new features such as server optimisation, new guns, a first-person only server, the ability to reconnect to games (finally!), vertical sync, a reporting feature and a fov slider are finally making their way to the game. You can read the patch notes in its entirety here.

Here are some of the changes you should watch out for:

Server Optimization

Optimized fences, doors, and windows

Optimized vehicle physics

Bug fixes

Partially fixed client crash issues

Fixed a bug where a character could not equip attachment with full inventory

Fixed a bug where a character could see through the other side of wall when scoping or crouching against certain walls

Fixed a bug where a character sitting on objects inside of certain buildings could see through ceilings and walls

Eliminated bombing outside of Red Zone

Gameplay

Added 1st Person server options to NA and EU Solo and Duo game-modes

Players who choose 1st Person mode will be matched together

Added a new feature to report players

Some people killed knocked-out teammates in order to avoid giving kill count to an opponent who knocked them down. Now the kill count will still go to the opponent in this specific case.

Improved camera transition when disabling Free look feature (Alt Key)

Players may now re-enter games if they have been disconnected mid-game

Added slight delay when using the drag-and-drop feature on items in inventory UI. We implemented this delay to provide a fair gameplay environment to all players

New Items

Added new weapon Mk14 EBR. Mk14 EBR is a Designated Marksman Rifle that can only be obtained from Carepackages. This weapon is chambered for 7.62mm and sniper rifle attachments

UI

Added new option for V-Sync

Added some region names to the mini map

Items and Vehicles

You may now honk a car horn when sitting in the driver’s seat with Left Mouse Click

SKOAR! is India's Premier Gaming Website. SKOAR! began its journey as a bi-monthly publication in 2003 and has since kept growing. Through this journey, it has evolved from a purely print magazine to an interactive magazine and now, has made its foray into the digital space. BTW, why on earth are you reading this part? Ran out of articles to read? Weren't we entertaining enough? Maybe you're just bored, so you might as well go pester the editor or troll someone in the comments ;-)